School bus drivers to Romney: We do count

[Enrique]

http://www.teamster.org/content/school-bus-drivers-romney-we-do-count

School Bus Drivers To Romney: We Do Count

August 15, 2012

“When a young person makes the honor roll, I know he took a school bus to get to the school, but I don’t give the bus driver credit for the honor roll.” –Mitt Romney

School bus drivers nationwide reacted strongly to this remark by Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, which was recently highlighted in the Washington Post.

“School bus drivers are important. Gov. Romney’s attitude is that bus drivers don’t count, but I take pride in encouraging my kids when they get a good report card, and I tell them they’re doing excellent and building their future. We have a position where we can impact these kids and it’s an important responsibility,” said Terry Riley, a driver with Durham School Services in Albuquerque, N.M.

“Mr. Romney is entitled to his opinion, but since he wanted to bring up school bus drivers, school bus drivers drive the future of the country; what does Mr. Romney do?” said Bob Hollenbach, a driver for Cook County School Bus in Arlington Heights, Ill. and member of Local 777 in Lyons, Ill.

“Bus drivers are the ones that get the honor roll kids to school. If there were no bus drivers driving these kids to school, they wouldn’t be able to even get there to make the honor roll,” said Sebrina Isom, a 27-year driver for Durham in Beaufort, S.C and member of Cayce-based Teamsters Local 509. “Why in the world would he [Romney] make that statement? I guess he never rode a school bus or had his children ride the bus to school, otherwise he’d know to appreciate the efforts of school bus drivers,” Isom said.

(...)

[Harmony Blue]

1. My school bus driver was awesome when I was a kid

I lived 1.9 miles away from the high school, and the school required you live a distance greater than 2.0 miles to ride the bus. I was recovering from surgery for my foot, and I tried everything so I could to ride the bus to avoid walking home. I decided to approach the driver one day, and since the bus was relatively empty he said it was no problem. That bus driver made a huge difference in my life and I finished out my senior year of high school with dignity while I recovered.

Salute to bus drivers all over the U.S.

[Brickbat]

2. The bus drivers in my school district are second to none. We live in a very sprawling rural district

that has long hard winters. What they do is hard, hard work.

[HopeHoops]

3. He called his "school bus" driver "the chauffeur".

[Tikki]

4. Reposted because school bus drivers ROCK our childrens' World...

I've got to say this, my sons' H S bus driver was a dedicated public employee....
friend to these kids and a strong Union advocate.
Years before my sons' started attending H S some of the students started a song
about this fine man...each year a new group of riders would add different verses to the song.
They didn't sing it every trip but when they did he would smile.

He encouraged my youngest son, though shy, to go out for the school play and stood up
for my oldest son when he was in the wrong place, wrong time and gathered up in the
crowd for misbehaving.
He ran all the way to the principal's office to let him know my son and a few
others were not involved.

He attended every graduation ceremony and dang well knew every rider's name.

What a fine man any student would be proud to include in their road to success.


Tikki

[belcffub]

5. I guess I wish I lived where others do

My bus driver opened the door, drove us to school and opened it again... they did not speak to us... I lived in a rural area and was on the bus 30 minutes each way..

I have two kids who ride a bus this year (next year one walks as they are going to pre-1998 bussing rules for distance to the school - which I am all for). One of them rides a special ed bus and the drivers know her name but to the best of my knowledge do not interact with her.

My oldest daughter doesn't even recognize the bus driver when we see her out and about... she lives a couple blocks away and has a daughter a couple of years younger at the same school... we have chatted a couple of times... nothing really happens on our busses or school... heck my oldest is going to middle school next year and in the 6 years she was at grade school there was not a single fight...

a none of this should be seen as putting anyone down... everyone has a role to play but making it bigger then it is seems silly...

[Enrique]

6. I was surprised when I heard him say it

and also at the audience applauding him. The message was clear, the student is "us" and the bus driver is "them" and we don't give a fuck about "them".

[belcffub]

7. I am positive the Mitt looks at people like that as dispossible

There are many people who look at anyone making less then themselves as below them... I see that where I work and my pay hardly compares to mitts... classism exists... and it is not only among the elite

[silverweb]

8. I still remember my kindergarten bus driver.

[font color="green" face="Verdana"]He was a sweet, kind, funny man. He made sure each one of us got off at our correct bus stop, and he always made us laugh. He made going to school that first year something to look forward to, even for the shy ones who had trouble adjusting.

I still remember being devastated when he died a few years later. If there's a heaven, I know Joe is there. Rmoney can go to hell.

[yellowcanine]

9. My youngest daughter was salutatorian and in her speech she made the point that we should thank

all of the people who work on our behalf every day and make it possible to keep our schools running - the administrative assistants in the office, the custodians, the school bus drivers. It was not condescending at all and very sweet. I got tears in my eyes and was about as proud of her as I could be. Best of all, her classmates and teachers and the rest of the audience gave her a huge ovation also.

Romney strikes me as one of those guys who thinks a person is not a success if they have a blue collar job and that they are expendable.

Not only that, but school bus drivers can play a large role in the success of a child by being professional in their job and offering encouragement. I have seen it happen.

[yellowcanine]

10. It is this kind of crap which makes people not like Romney. Of course Romney would say this.

I suspect this was a kind of play off of Obama's point that the businessman did not build the road. If so he made Obama's point and shot down his own.

[Quantess]

11. Romney is really lousy at this, isn't he?

He doesn't know how to speak to one group without insulting another group. I'm sure it works well at board meetings and private fundraisers, where it is safe to rip on whoever isn't in the room. But a failure on the national stage.

[yellowcanine]

12. He also forgot or did not know that a lot of school bus drivers are Teamsters.

Big mistake Willard. So not only has he pissed off school bus drivers but also a lot of other blue collar and union workers as well because the Teamsters will make damn sure people know about this.

"I guess he never rode a school bus or had his children ride the bus to school, otherwise he’d know to appreciate the efforts of school bus drivers,” Isom said."

Double ouch.